


Everything Looks Perfect From Far Away

by lullabelle



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-22
Updated: 2010-06-22
Packaged: 2018-01-07 11:37:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lullabelle/pseuds/lullabelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto and Jack have a chat on the Plass.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything Looks Perfect From Far Away

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the redisourcolor Challenge #6: Children. The phrase to use was, "Well, I wanted strawberry," and the words to incorporate were fairytale, sunscreen, and scarred. Thank you, heddychaa for the on-the-fly beta.

Ianto leans against the guard rail overlooking the Plass. Below him, a woman is chasing her four-year-old daughter with a bottle of sunscreen. The little girl is shrieking and grinning and dodging, the ribbons of her fairytale princess dress whipping around her. Even though her mother is yelling at her, brandishing the bottle of sunscreen at her like it is a remote control and she is desperately wishing she could hit 'pause', the girl just keeps dodging.

He _feels_ Jack behind him, before he sees him. The way he's bent forward on the railing, he imagines Jack's gaze begins at his arse, and then travels up. He doesn't look when Jack's elbow is suddenly next to his on the rail, mimicking his position as he follows his gaze to the scene in front of them.

"She's fast," Jack says. Other passerby are noticing as well, their expressions ranging from amusement to why-can't-you-control-your-daughter.

Ianto gives a little grunt of acknowledgment. He doesn't know if he was ever that young. He'd always been such a serious kid. It wasn't until the last few years that he was regretting not doing more to earn the punishments he'd always received anyway. Rhiannon had always been the troublemaker in their family. He remembers the time he bought her the wrong ice cream cone on the walk back from school. "Well I wanted strawberry!" she'd screamed as she squashed the whole bloody thing into his hair. By the time they'd finished walking home, he'd smelt so bad that he was pretty sure even Rhi regretted doing it. Somehow, they'd ended up with equal punishment.

"Sorry, what?" he asks, realizing that Jack's been speaking, and he's been in his own world.

"Have you ever wanted kids?" Jack's tone is light, but the look he's giving is serious.

Ianto shakes his head. "No, not really. There was a time with Lisa where I could have seen it happening, but I've never really felt driven towards children." Realizing he's about to ask a potentially loaded question, Ianto hazards, "Have you?"

Jack grins, and the expression is more than a little sad, "Oh yeah." Noting the look of panic on Ianto's face, he quickly adds, "But not right now."

They're silent for a moment. On the Plass, the woman has finally managed to scoop up her daughter, whose joyful shrieks are sounding significantly less joyful.

"I wonder if she's looking for a job."

"Hm?" Jack asks. He's been looking at their hands. His are so much older, but Ianto's are the ones that are scarred. Some small white scratches on his right hand that he says are from a childhood fall where he'd tried to catch himself on a concrete rail. The small, shiny white burns on his left are from trying to dismantle a red-hot cyberconversion unit. He wants to take Ianto's hands in his for a closer look, but Ianto doesn't like it when he does things like that in public. It's not something Jack understands, not really, but it is something he tries to respect.

"The little girl. Give her a can of Weevil spray and send her after Janet. We'd never be outrun again."

Jack snorts. 

Ianto's cell phone goes off. He checks the message and sighs. "Gwen's got a large spike in rift activity out in Grangetown."

"Let's take the lift," Jack suggests, standing up straight.

As soon as they're on the paving stone, Ianto lets Jack take his hands.


End file.
